AN:: Wow, I didn't expect such an explosive reaction! I'm glad everyone likes it so far and here's the next chapter, as promised, although it's pretty short. Thanks guys!
Sulu slept in a dead way. He collapsed on his biobed and fell asleep almost instantly, dreamless but for the sense of anguish he carried with him even in sleep. When he awoke the next morning, he felt as though he could have continued sleeping all day and, probably, forever.
He should have been happy. The doctor had told him no one had touched Pavel and that should have made him relieved.
But the deer-in-headlights face was plastered to the inside of his eyelids and he couldn't help but feel uneasy as he walked to sickbay, before even changing or showering or combing his ruffled, unruly black hair.
He found he had never felt so nervous visiting Pavel ever before.
The doors opened with a quiet 'woosh' and he stepped in, nodding to a nurse. Said nurse pointed to further back in sickbay, and he smiled grimly in thanks, heading that direction. He found the doctor before he found Chekov.
"Mr. Sulu," he said in greeting, receiving a "Doctor" in reply.
"You're welcome to see him but I warn you, he's not quite…himself. Pretty shaken up, I'd say, but maybe you can fix that, he's always preferred your company. Just don't overwork the kid," he instructed quickly before turning away. Sulu was sure he would do no such thing, but he took the doctor's advice to heart regardless, advancing on the last biobed.
His heart dropped like lead into his knees when he approached. Chekov had seen him and had jumped nearly out of the bed in what Sulu could only assume was fright.
"Pavel," he said softly, moving to the side of the bed. Chekov looked down, staring unseeingly at his blanket. "How are you doing?" he asked gently, worry seeping from his tone. Chekov didn't not look up and Sulu thought he knew that this was what McCoy meant. Shaken up, indeed.
"Come on, Pavel, I've been worried about you. Talk to me, please," he asked, barely keeping the desperation from his voice. He wanted nothing more than reassurance that Pavel was alright, but he quickly found that he wouldn't get that here.
He could only stay for about five minutes. Pavel occasionally shook his head, but not in reply to anything Sulu had said. His eyes remained downcast, empty, and it shook Sulu's insides to their core to see him like that.
Finally, he left, but stopped to talk to Doctor McCoy first.
"Doctor, is this behavior, um…normal? For this situation?" he asked uneasily, anxious for a positive answer.
McCoy looked grave and didn't answer right away, instead searching Sulu with his strikingly blue eyes.
"Maybe, Mr. Sulu. Maybe. Think about it: all of his innocence—all of it—gone. Just like that, and ripped from him in ways it never should be. Would you be okay, Sulu?"
And Sulu thought that yes, he would be, because he had not been innocent in a long time. All he could think was that he didn't want Chekov to crash down to that same level because he was simply too beautiful to hurt.
---
He exited sickbay and was surprised to nearly literally run into Captain Kirk upon rounding the corner.
"Captain," he said, and his voice was strained.
Kirk nodded in greeting, but stopped the Asian when he tried to go around him.
"Sulu, I have to talk to you." His tone dripped with worry and Sulu's replying 'Sir?' echoed it.
"I'm concerned about the kid," he said bluntly, "He's not like you and me, y'know. Seventeen…and I'll bet he never even had a girlfriend, too busy studying up to get into Starfleet as early as he did. He just wasn't used to people, Sulu, not people like them." He spat the word as if it would poison him to swallow, and Sulu thought he understood.
"Yes, Captain," was his dead answer.
"Hey, listen, Sulu. The kid thinks a lot of you," he began, but cut off Sulu's skeptical gaze. "He does, probably way more than you know. You're his best friend, and I want you to fix him."
It could have been the way he worded it, or maybe his tone of urgency and desperation. Whatever it was, Sulu found his eyes squeezed tightly shut, forcing back tears, and he was thankful the captain did not touch him, did not put a hand to his shoulder, because his fists were balled up with violence.
"I have relieved him from duty temporarily… 'temporarily' being until he is back to being himself. I'm counting on you, y'know. No one else can do it, it has to be you, but I promise the entire crew is going to do their best. He deserves it."
Sulu couldn't find words, although he opened his eyes now. Kirk's blue eyes twinkled with sincerity and Sulu was thankful, above all else.
Chekov has friends, and he has Sulu, and they will not give up.
AN:: Short chapter, yes, I'm sorry. The next one may be short too but things are going to start happening, promiiiise.
So I feel the need to let you in on my personal life a bit. is strictly off-limits for me according to my mother and I have to carefully edit my history in order to post this at all and I must get on only when she's gone. So now you know.
Also, it has been expressed that people feel 'put off' by my begging for reviews. In hopes that it will do some measure of good, let me explain my mindset behind this: I do not write just for the sheer joy of writing, although that is a part of it. If I did, I probably wouldn't even post my writing online. As it is, I write for the purpose of improving. Or rather, I post my work online for the purpose of improving. Many people read, and enjoy, but don't comment or review. Many people have helpful critique and choose not to share it. I refuse to post without reviews because I refuse to continue posting when I am unsure of my audience's reactions. I want to read about how you feel while reading so I know where I am going wrong and how to change it. I want you to feel a certain way and I write accordingly—if you don't review, I won't know how you felt when reading my work.
So, that said, the next chapter will, as promised, come after your ten reviews. Again, critique is welcomed, and flames are ignored. I am capable of differentiating between harsh critique and flames, so don't worry. Thanks.